This month I was sent one of HoneyTree Stationery Lovers Club‘s parcels to try out. If you love stationery like I do, you might like the idea of a surprise box of goodies through the post. If so, it would be worth considering signing up to HoneyTree as the quality of their products is exceptional. A month’s box costs £15, but if you sign up for longer the costs come down and it is possible to get a monthly box for just £10 if you commit for a year.

As you can see I got quite a range of items in my pack. This month’s pack had a bird theme which is really pretty, but the items are quite different – they are not all the same bird motif and I like that variety. With two quality blank greeting cards in the pack I am well placed to deal with upcoming birthdays, but as they are blank you could use them as a thank you card or for another occasion. There are also some lovely gift tags with ribbon ties to attach to presents. There’s writing paper, envelopes and postcards too – so lots of your stationery needs covered off in one box.

I have a month’s box from HoneyTree Stationery Lovers Club to give away to readers too. Enter via the Gleam widget below.

Competition Terms and Conditions

No bulk, third-party or automated entries.

Entrants must be UK residents aged 18 years or older.

The winners will be chosen by a random draw.

The winner will be notified by email and will have a week to claim their prize. Should they fail to respond within this time, an alternative winner will be selected.

Promoter is responsible for fulfilling the prize and full contact details of the winner will be passed onto the promoter.

Apparently 11am on Wednesday morning is the most common time for parents of babies in Birmingham to run out of essential items like nappies and baby food, according to figures released by Amazon. For me as a parent it was tea time on Bank Holiday Monday when I realised that I was in a bit of a mess. I’d invited a friend and her four children to come round for the day on the Tuesday, plus not content with that I’d invited my sister and her five children for the day on the Wednesday. Before either family arrived I needed to clean and ideally make a good start on lunch. I couldn’t quite see how I was going to do all that and make it to the shops, but I was going to have to find a way because I had no food to serve them.

Then I remembered that I’d been asked to review Prime Now and it seemed like the ideal opportunity to put it to the test. I’d order what we needed and get it delivered before my guests arrived, thinking that would be a Tuesday morning slot. In fact, I got actually got the stuff delivered that evening (yes, on a bank holiday) and I was good to go. Prime Now launched in Birmingham in summer 2015 and offers one-hour delivery on thousands of items including daily essentials such as coffee, batteries and nappies, as well as other popular items like games consoles, toys and sports equipment – all via a simple and easy-to-use mobile app. Prime members can choose delivery within one hour of ordering for £6.99, or free delivery within a choice of two-hour, same-day delivery slots between 8am and midnight, seven days a week.

So I planned out what I needed to buy – I’d been thinking I’d have to buy in things like pizza, but I was impressed by how much in the way of fresh fruit and vegetables was available, so I decided to make some salads. Prices were very reasonable too with a whole cucumber at 42 pence and an iceberg lettuce for 49 pence, so it wasn’t like I was paying over the odds for the convenience. I got a little more adventuresome and decided to have a look at some things that would make our get-togethers be a bit more fun. We planned a day of water fun with H’s cousins, but I wasn’t sure if they all had water pistols I ‘invested’ in a new one for H, so we could lend one out if need be. I had a look around the Prime Now app on my phone and found some really good deals for buying tea and coffee in bulk. I stocked up. There’s no charge for delivery, but you do need to spend £20, although that is easily done as you can buy tins and things to stock up your store cupboard if you need to add a few more items.

What wasn’t available that I might have bought? Running out of houmous is a bit of a disaster in our house, as H eats it most days, but I couldn’t find it on the app no matter how I spelt it. It did cross my mind to see if they had a paddling pool, as mice had shredded ours in the shed over winter and I thought the kids would enjoy it, but there was no pool. I thought of buying a nice cake to serve as pudding, but there was only a limited range and nothing really caught my eye. Since I wrote this post though they have added both paddling pools and houmous to the offering, so I’m a happy girl.

What might I buy in the future? I love that they sell kettles. You know how it is when your kettle breaks, you need another asap. If you are stuck at home with a baby or a sick child or just waiting in for a parcel when it goes, then it becomes a major issue, so being able to get one delivered so fast is a real godsend. There are other things too that I can imagine breaking or needing in a hurry and not wanting to go to the shops for at short notice. A new school water bottle maybe or batteries for a new toy (or an old one). Just before your holiday you might remember you need a travel adaptor or sun cream, you can get these. Maybe there has been a power cut and it’s mid-afternoon in winter, but you can’t find the torch, you can order one. Another situation I can see myself using Prime Now for is when I forget to buy a birthday present, perhaps for a party or a birthday treat that H is going on. You can order a reasonable range of gifts and toys, so you should be able to find something and it can be with you within a couple of hours without having to pay delivery charges.

Amazon Prime Now is available in Birmingham and also in selected postcodes which surround the city including Lichfield, Cannock and Tamworth. On your app you can do everything from choosing and ordering to tracking the driver’s progress towards your house. I have Amazon Prime membership for the coming year and I’m already enjoying some other benefits, like quicker free delivery on my normal Amazon orders. I’m also looking at taking advantage the Kindle library and Prime Instant Video, so that we can read and watch for free.

The other week I was invited to the Hotter Shoes shop in Stratford Upon Avon for a blogger evening. I’ve been to one of these events before at their Solihull store and I knew it would be good fun. The Hotter Shoes ladies are lovely and I’ve met them a number of times at blogging conferences and these local blogger evenings. This time I was keen to try out some of their sandals. Previously I’ve reviewed a pair of loafers, a pair of ankle boots and a pair of trainers, so I thought it would be nice to try something different. That said, I have worn their sandals before as last year I decided to do something about my sandal collection as it was in need of a bit of love. I went to Hotter and bought 2 pairs of sandals that I wore a lot last summer. I took them to Italy with me for our holiday and they were really practical for all that walking around Pompeii.

Here are the sandals I picked out. They are called Molly. I picked them out because they are a fab red colour. I often wear red as it’s one of my colours and it goes great with navy too. One of the sandals I bought last year was the Molly too and I had them in black. I found them so comfortable to wear and I had nice compliments about them, so I decided I would have another pair in a different colour. As you’d expect from a sandal that I’ve already tried out extensively and chose to have another pair of, I’m really pleased with the Molly. They also offer them in navy (which I was tempted by), off white and an animal print. They are priced at £65, but I expect to get a lot of use out of mine. Last year’s pair look good as new really and they have done quite a few miles.

I love a bag of goodies, so I had great fun routing through this one that I received from Boswells of Oxford. It contained lots of beauty goodies and came in a lovely gift bag. There were some familiar brands and ranges for me. I have used Weleda’s Wild Rose range before this was the first time I’d tried the Smoothing Day Cream. It’s perfect for drier skins and contains lots of natural ingredients including peach kernel oil and sweet almond oil as well as the rose seed oil that gives the range its name. I really like this and found it the perfect daytime moisturiser when we were on holiday the other month as I found it good for dealing with skin that had been in the sun.

Another brand that I’ve come across before is Dr.Bronner and I’m a fan of the great soaps they make. This time I was trying out the Organic Rose Soap Bar which is made from blended essential oils. It has a beautiful, delicate rose scent.

A new brand and product for me was Dead Sea Spa Magik’s Rich Moisturiser which I took away a 25ml tugbe on holiday to use as a night cream. The cream has a lovely rich texture, but it’s not greasy, and is perfect for using overnight. As it contains UVA and UVB protection it could easily be used in the daytime too. It left my skin feeling soft and smooth and is great for dealing with any annoying dry patches on your face.

About me

I’m Erica Price and I run Nine to Three Thirty. I’m a blogger based in Birmingham in the West Midlands. Nine to Three Thirty focuses on topics that interest or concern parents of school age children. Learn more